BRADFORD, J.
Approximately three and one-half years after receiving his third qualifying driving conviction within a ten-year period, Richard Thomas received notice from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles that, pursuant to Indiana Code section 9-30-10-4(b), he qualified as a habitual traffic violator, and, as a result, that his driving privileges would be suspended for a period of ten years. Thomas requested relief on administrative review. This request was denied. Thomas subsequently filed a petition for judicial review of the Bureau’s determination claiming that the Bureau did not notify him of its determination regarding his status as a habitual traffic violator in a timely fashion. The trial court found against Thomas, concluding that the relevant statutory provisions did not set forth an applicable statute of limitation for imposing habitual traffic violator status, and that it did not have the power to impose any such statute of limitation.
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Thomas contends that the BMV’s notice regarding his driving status and the resulting suspension of his driving privileges was untimely. Thomas argues that a statutory limitation period should apply to determinations by the BMV regarding HTV status. Thomas, however, does not clearly state what statutory limitation period should apply to determinations regarding HTV status. Thomas acknowledges that this court has previously held that the two-year limitation period set forth by Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4 does not apply to BMV determinations regarding HTV status, McNeil, 931 N.E.2d at 902, but argues that the general ten-year limitation period set for by Indiana Code section 34-11-1-2 should not apply. Specifically, Thomas claims that the general ten-year limitation period should not apply because a ten-year delay in notifying one of his status as an HTV and the resulting suspension of his driving privileges transforms the suspension from a regulatory to a punitive measure.
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It does not appear that the General Assembly has amended Indiana Code section 9-30-10 to include a statute of limitation since our 2010 decision in McNeil. However, the Indiana Supreme Court has recently held that the General Assembly enacted the general ten-year statute of limitation prescribed in Indiana Code section 34-11-1-2 “for the very purpose of supplying a statute of limitation when one has not otherwise been provided by a more specific statutory scheme.” Ind. Spine Group, PC v. Pilot Travel Ctrs., LLC, 959 N.E.2d 789, 794 (Ind. 2011) (internal quotation omitted). Accordingly, in light of the Supreme Court’s holding in Indiana Spine Group, we must assume that, until the General Assembly provides otherwise, the general ten-year statute of limitation prescribed in Indiana Code section 34-11-1-2 applies to claims relating to determinations by the BMV regarding HTV status and the suspension of one’s driving privileges.
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Thomas alternatively contends that even if the BMV did provide him with timely notice of his status as an HTV, the ten-year suspension of his driving privileges should be barred by the doctrine of laches. . . . .
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. . . [W]hile we have concluded that the doctrine should not be permitted to frustrate the enforcement of a valid regulation where government acts to protect the public welfare except for in the clearest and most compelling circumstances, we recognize that “[u]nder certain conditions, where extreme unfairness is shown, a court may apply equitable principles against the government.” Id. (citing U.S. v. Lindberg Corp., 882 F.2d 1158 (7th Cir. 1989)). “Extreme unfairness occurs where the public interest would be threatened by the government’s conduct.” Id. (citing Hannon v. Metro. Dev. Comm’n of Marion Cnty., 685 N.E.2d 1075 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997)).
In arguing that the doctrine of laches should apply to the instant matter, Thomas claims that a ten-year suspension of his driving privileges would result in extreme unfairness because in the years since his last qualifying conviction, he has “altered his behavior to effectively render himself a safe driver.” Appellant’s Br. p. 16. However, we are unconvinced by Thomas’s self-serving statement regarding his belief that he has altered his behavior in a manner such to render him a “safe driver,” and conclude that it falls far short of demonstrating that the public interest would be threatened by the BMV’s conduct in the instant matter. . . . Thomas’s qualifying convictions include convictions for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, reckless driving, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person. Despite Thomas’s claim to the contrary, we believe that the public interest would likely be served, not threatened, by the ten-year suspension of Thomas’s driving privileges. Because the extremely limited circumstances which would allow for its application are not present in this case, we conclude that the doctrine of laches is inapplicable to the instant matter.
ROBB, C.J., and BAKER, J., concur.